


The Soldier & The Stark

by cptnstarlights



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Avengers Family, Avengers Tower, Awesome Shuri (Marvel), Awesome Wanda Maximoff, BAMF Carol Danvers, BAMF Natasha Romanov, Bucky Barnes & Natasha Romanov Friendship, Bucky Barnes & Wanda Maximoff Friendship, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov Friendship, Domestic Avengers, F/M, Falling In Love, Friends to Lovers, Parent Pepper Potts, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Avengers, Protective Bucky Barnes, Protective Pepper Potts, Protective Steve Rogers, Telepathic Wanda Maximoff, True Love, Wanda Maximoff & Natasha Romanov Friendship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-22
Updated: 2020-12-03
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:41:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27671512
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cptnstarlights/pseuds/cptnstarlights
Summary: Chloe Caldwell had always known that her father was out there somewhere in the world, but never imagined it to be the great Tony Stark himself. After going through her fair share of adjustments to her new life as a Stark herself, Chloe starts to think of the Avengers as part of her new family as well.With Chloe possessing the same genius mind as her father, Chloe doesn’t mind getting to work in the labs and helping make a real difference in the world by helping her new family any way she can and find new ways to keep them safe. What she doesn’t expect is developing some strong and strange bond with the ex-Winter Soldier himself, Bucky Barnes, who quickly learns just how to make Chloe laugh and smile and feel like she belongs.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Original Female Character(s), James "Bucky" Barnes/Reader, Steve Rogers/Original Female Character(s)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 46





	1. The Lost Stark

Stark Tower was intimidating inside and out as Chloe had learned, walking into the sleek and modern lobby with people going every direction. 

It was overwhelming to say the least, every person that brushed by her was enough to make her want to turn around and leave. Under any other circumstance, she would have, she’d been avoiding Stark Industries for a while and pretty successfully, but now the reason for her being here had already been pushed off for a year and, legally, needed to be done today. Taking a deep breath, Chloe finally worked up enough nerve to head towards the receptionist's desk and get this whole thing over with. 

“Hi, how can I help you?” The woman behind the desk greeted her, a big bright white smile on her face. 

“Uh, hi, I...I have an appointment with Mr. Stark at two,” Chloe said, trying not to trip over her own words too much. 

“What’s your name?” She asked. 

“Chloe Caldwell,” Chloe replied. 

“Alright, Miss Caldwell, you can go ahead and use the elevator up to the top floor and Mr. Stark will be right with you,” The receptionist said. 

“Uhm, ok, thanks,” Chloe said. 

Chloe made her way to the nearest elevator, trying not to think too much about the fact that she was going to be face-to-face with  _ the _ Tony Stark and didn’t have exactly great news to give him. As soon as the doors opened up once again, Chloe considered just staying on and “accidentally” missing the meeting, but she could practically hear her mother in her head right now telling her to face what she feared the most. Carefully making her way out the doors, she couldn’t help but be in awe of the office just a little bit. 

“Wow,” Chloe said, unable to help herself. 

“You get used to it after being here for a while,” Tony said, coming around the corner into view. 

“Oh, uh, hi Mr. Stark,” Chloe said nervously. 

“Chloe Caldwell, right?” Tony asked, heading towards his desk, the windows behind him turning into screens and holograms of information all on her, “I have to say, half of the people that apply here don’t have the same impressive resume as you do.” 

“Uhm, thank you,” Chloe said, nodding slightly and summoning up some courage to take a few steps into the actual office. 

“MIT grad at seventeen, constructing new cybernetic limbs for wounded veterans, creating some real life-saving tech to be shipped out overseas, even an offer from S.H.I.E.L.D,” Tony said, every piece of information he mentioned popping up on the holo’s beside him, “I have to say, all of that is more than enough to get you into R&D here with us.” 

“That’s...that’s great,” Chloe said, clutching the envelope she’d been carrying close to her chest. 

“You can actually come and sit down here, I was actually going to talk about offering you a different opportunity,” Tony said, gesturing towards the chairs in front of his desk. 

“Oh, right, sorry, just a bit nervous,” Chloe said, making her way fully into the room, catching a glimpse of the snowy city out behind them before taking a seat and clutching the envelope closer, “What kind of opportunity?” 

“Well, while I’m sure you’d be great here in R&D, we could actually really use someone like you working between here and the headquarters just outside the city,” Tony said. 

“Headquarters?” Chloe asked. 

“Well, not officially Stark Industries, officially it’s Avengers, but I’ve got a lot of mine and S.H.I.E.L.D’s best guys working out there, I think you’d fit right in,” Tony said. 

“I...that really sounds amazing, Mr. Stark,” Chloe said, cracking a small smile before the nerves took over once again, “But, uhm, I really don’t think you’re going to want to hire me.” 

Trying to keep her hands from shaking, Chloe held out the envelope, the name “Tony Stark” printed on it in a clear bold font that Tony cautiously took from her hands. 

“Am I being sued? Again?” Tony asked. 

“No, no, no, definitely not being sued,” Chloe said, the nervous tick of tucking her brunette hair behind her ears taking over, “I honestly think it’s just a letter but I really wasn’t allowed to open it.” 

“Huh,” Tony said, glancing down at the envelope before opening it up, a small stack of folded up paper coming out and unfolding into a letter. 

As soon as he started reading, Chloe fought the urge to just get up and run, though she’d certainly been doing her fair share of that for the past year. 

“...Caldwell...you’re...you’re the daughter of Jennifer Caldwell?” Tony asked, his eyes locked on the letter in front of him. 

“Yeah,” Chloe said quietly, nodding slightly. 

“And...she died...last year I’m assuming from the date here,” Tony said, eyes still locked on the letter. 

“A year tomorrow actually,” Chloe said, “Which is why I came today, she left a will that said I had to bring that to you within a year after her death.” 

“And what did she tell you about this exactly?” Tony asked. 

“Well, she said that the man who I used to call Uncle Obidiah was a really bad man, that he’s the one who made us move around a lot from country to country when I was younger until he stopped coming around after he died. She said that my father, who I never knew, was still alive and that she didn’t tell me to protect me all these years, figuring it was easier to stay hidden and out of danger,” Chloe said, “She, uh, she also told me that...you’re my father...and I-I think she just wanted some kind of peace with telling me all of that, and I guess with telling you.” 

Tony was silent, nodding his head but still focused on the pages in front of him, reading each page top to bottom several times over. 

“I didn’t want to come here,” Chloe said, “I just wanted to go back to living the life I knew after she told me, I didn’t...I don’t want to interfere with anything, I don’t want anything from you, I just...she wanted you to know.” 

“FRIDAY, cancel all of my meetings today,” Tony said, finally setting the letters down and getting a good look at Chloe. 

_ “Certainly, sir,”  _ FRIDAY responded as the room fell silent. 

* * *

“So...Uncle Obidiah,” Tony said, their meeting now moved to the kitchen of his penthouse apartment in the building, a bottle of whisky sitting on the bar between him and Chloe, “How long was he around for?” 

“Uh, from before I was born I think, she never really said how long before,” Chloe said, staring down at the glass of alcohol in front of her that she’d refused to drink. 

“When were you born?” Tony asked, taking a huge sip from his glass. 

“May 29th, 1999,” Chloe said, “My mom always said it was a special day but I never really got it until she told me why - your birthday too.” 

“Well good to know there were still things around that Obidiah was hiding from me,” Tony said, a grim look on his face, “He had the pleasure of telling me that your mother had died in a car crash while still pregnant with you in January of 1999. What else do you know?” 

“She told me that, well, back then that you really wanted to meet me...she said you were a really good man, despite what everyone said.” 

Tony finished off his glass of whiskey quickly, pouring himself a new one almost right away and even adding a little more to Chloe’s glass though her’s remained untouched. 

“Did she tell you that I wanted to marry her?” Tony asked. 

“She did,” Chloe said, keeping her gaze down at her hands, “She said she really wanted to marry you too, but that Uncle Obidiah said he’d hurt you if she did. That’s why she just listened to him and ran away.” 

“...How did she die?” Tony asked. 

“Cancer,” Chloe said, “They found it too late in her lungs, it was already in other parts of her body, it never got to her brain though which I suppose was the only good thing about it.” 

“How come you didn’t come to me after she died?” Tony asked. 

“I just didn’t want to change things for anyone - not me, not you, not anyone else that could be affected by this,” Chloe said, “I spent the last year trying to ignore everything she told me until I found out that she made sure I couldn’t just run away from you and all of this. I know she wanted me to know you after all this time, she said we were always a lot alike, but...I didn’t want to mess things up for either of us. I don’t want to be the daughter of Tony Stark that popped up out of nowhere and be thought of as someone taking advantage of you or anything you do, I just wanted to go back to being Chloe Caldwell.” 

“How old are you?” Tony asked. 

“Uhm, twenty-one, why?” Chloe asked. 

“You should really have some of that drink, it helps,” Tony said with a sigh, taking another long sip from his own glass. 

Finally cracking a smile, Chloe caved in and took a small sip from her glass, trying not to wrinkle her nose at the strong taste. 

“Your mom never really liked whiskey either,” Tony said, cracking a smile of his own now, “You look a lot like her, thank god, looks like the only thing you got stuck with of mine is the brain and the eyes.” 

“Thanks,” Chloe said with a smile, finally feeling a little more comfortable. 

“I do have to say, you’re wrong about what you said earlier,” Tony said, earning a confused look from Chloe, “Knowing you and that you’re alive and my daughter isn’t going to mess anything up. I’ve had a rough time for a  _ really _ long time, and if anything, getting to know you is just going to make things better.” 

“But...you’re Iron Man...and aren’t you married now? What about your wife?” Chloe asked. 

“I stopped caring what people thought about me after I became Iron Man, and Pepper would personally strangle me to death in my sleep if I ever did anything so stupid as letting my own daughter leave this building and never come back and not getting to know a single thing about her,” Tony said. 

“Oh...so, what now?” Chloe asked. 

“Well, the job is yours that you came here for, under false pretenses sure, but still yours. Sadly that means you have to spend a lot of time with your cool old dad and I definitely get the better end of the deal by getting to learn about my amazing daughter and all the good she’s done,” Tony said. 

For the first time since her mother died, Chloe felt like she’d finally found her home once again. 


	2. Emergencies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoy! Wanda, Steve, Nat, and Bucky are finally introduced!

“I’m pretty sure my apartment doesn’t even have this much room in it,” Chloe said. 

“Eh, it’s a little cramped here, I might have someone come in and do some work whenever we’re not here, but the compound has more room,” Tony said. 

“No, trust me, this is way more than enough,” Chloe said, “Are you sure it’s okay for me to be here?” 

“You’re staying, it’s more than alright, Pepper will be here Friday and I think she’s more excited to meet you than to see me after two weeks,” Tony said. 

Chloe had only spent two days with Tony so far, exploring the labs, looking into research being conducted in the tower, sharing some stories here and there, but the room had been more than a surprise. 

“I know it’s a lot,” Tony said, “But, there was a time when the thought of finally meeting you was all I could think about, and then you were gone, and now you’re here...I just don’t want to miss more of my daughter's life.” 

“Well, you won’t, I promise,” Chloe said with a smile, hugging Tony quickly. 

_ “Sir, you have a call coming through from Agent Romanoff,”  _ FRIDAY announced. 

“Put her through to my cell,” Tony said, his phone starting to ring immediately, “Go ahead and get settled in, I’ll be back.” 

Answering his phone as he walked out of the room, Chloe was finally left with a moment of silence, if only for a moment. 

_ “Miss Stark, Mr. Stark informed me to let you know that if you are in need of anything, I’m here at your service as well,”  _ FRIDAY said. 

“Oh, uhm, thanks,” Chloe said. 

* * *

Getting shot at was nothing new to Bucky, he felt like he spent most of his life getting shot at. An occasional bullet would clip him from time to time, it hurt like hell but never lasted long thanks to whatever knock-off serum Hydra had injected into him ages ago. But whatever the hell he’d just been shot with was not a normal bullet in the least. 

It was supposed to be simple, a quick mission with Wanda, Nat, and Steve through the outskirts of Bucharest, chasing some new cell of Hydra that was supposedly forming once again. A mission that quickly escalated once they’d learned that they had recruited far more people already than anticipated and were cooking up some kind of weapon no one had seen before. Their small headquarters turned out to be a large warehouse of experimental weapons, and Bucky was now sure he’d just been shot by one of them. Lodged right into his side was a small-caliber bullet, but unlike any other bullet he’d encounter before, this one seemed to be leaking a black substance into his bloodstream. Ripping the bullet out only confirmed it, but as soon as the pain hit, it was enough to leave him speechless. 

It felt as if someone had set fire to his blood, his whole body feeling like there was a raging fire burning just under his skin, ripping through him with pain that was almost blinding. He wasn’t sure when he’d fallen down behind some cover after the shot, all he could hear were still the downpour of bullets he and Nat had been trying to suppress while Steve and Wanda worked inside. 

“Bucky, Bucky, can you hear me?” Natasha’s voice was faint and far away, he could just barely make out of red hair from the corner of his blurred vision. 

Unable to speak in anything more than screams, Bucky forced himself to nod while Natasha grabbed him, turning him on his side to get a better look at the wound. 

“Shit,” Natasha hissed, “Just stay with me Bucky, don’t pass out.” 

He could barely see Natasha stand up, firing off more shots and apparently hitting some targets as fewer bullets seemed to be firing on the other side of their barrier wall. Natasha ducked back down beside him as soon as more shots rang out. 

“Cap, Wanda, can you guys hear me?” Natasha asked, her hand to her earpiece to try and hear some kind of response from them. 

“We’re here,” Steve responded, Bucky able to hear him through his own earpiece. 

“Bucky’s down, he got hit with something bad, how are you guys in there?” Natasha asked. 

“We’ve almost got it under control,” Wanda replied, “A few holdouts are hiding locked up in an office, I’ll get them out and we’re clear in here.” 

“Good, I’ll take out these guys on the ground, I need to get Bucky out of here fast, whatever they shot him with it’s not good,” Natasha said, “Whatever you do, try not to get shot either, it looks like this stuff they have leaves stuff behind even with the bullet out.” 

“Is he gonna be alright?” Steve asked, concern in his voice. 

“He has a chance to if I can clear these last five guys and get him on the quinjet out of here,” Natasha said, “If anyone can figure out what this is right now, it’s Stark.” 

“Wanda, can you handle these guys?” Steve asked. 

“I’ve got it,” Wanda said. 

Bucky heard a loud shattering of glass coming from behind the barrier, the familiar sound of Steve’s shield banging around of the nearby building to knock out some of the guys they’d been stuck up against. 

“Nat, get Bucky out now, we’ll call in S.H.I.E.L.D to clean this up,” Steve said. 

“On it,” Natasha said, “Come on, let’s get you out of here.” 

Natasha bent down and helped Bucky up to his feet, every small movement causing the pain to only get worse, but he knew he just had to hold on until they reached the quinjet nearby. He could still hear his friends fighting in the background as Natasha helped him on board, strapping him into the co-pilot seat just to keep her eye on him as she started the quinjet up. With a few switches and levers, the jet was up in the air and already flying while Natasha put on autopilot and pulled up a call, Bucky just barely able to make out the name  _ Tony Stark _ on the screen. 

_ “Somebody miss me?”  _ Tony asked, his voice barely audible to Bucky. 

“Not now Stark, we’ve got a problem,” Natasha said, “I’m taking scans of him now, Bucky got hit with something, it was laced with some kind of poison that’s not like anything I’ve ever seen. All his veins are black, his skin looks like it’s burning, it’s got to be something new Hydra cooked up.” 

_ “Alright, let me pull them up,”  _ Tony said, shifting to a more serious tone now,  _ “Jesus Christ, whatever it is it’s tearing him apart from the inside out, we need something to stabilize him. Where are you heading to?”  _

“Right now to the compound,” Natasha said, “Any idea how to stabilize him?” 

_ “Last week T’challa and Shuri came by the compound, they outfitted all the jets with their latest med-tech, no miracles or anything but definitely enough to stabilize anyone long enough to get help,”  _ Tony said,  _ “It should be in the new medkit at the back of the ship, use the syringe with the purple stuff in it, that stabilizes anything attacking the bloodstream.” _

“Got it,” Natasha said, unbuckling herself from the seat to head to the back. 

Bucky was fighting to keep his eyes open, everything was so blurry and moving around on its own that all he wanted to do was close his eyes, even though he knew he couldn’t. Natasha came back quickly, purple syringe in hand and she quickly injected it into his side around the wound. Compared to the pain he’d been feeling, the needle was nothing, but slowly he felt the effects ease things slightly, at least letting the burning subside. 

“I think he’s okay, this should hold until we get there, right?” Natasha asked. 

_ “It holds twenty-four hours, you’ll be fine getting here,”  _ Tony said,  _ “I’m gonna call Bruce and head up there now to meet you there.”  _

“Alright,” Natasha said, the phone call ending right after as she got back into the pilot’s seat, “Hang in there Buck.” 

* * *

Tony knocked on Chloe’s door, waiting for her invitation before coming barging into the room. 

“Kid, I hate to do this but I’ve got to go right now,” Tony said, “Stay here, do whatever you want, order from wherever you want for dinner, I just need you to stay here.” 

“Something happen?” Chloe asked, a confused look on her face. 

“Something went wrong with one of us on a mission, bad injury, I need to get to the compound right now, but you stay here and get settled in-” 

“Wait, bad injury, how bad?” Chloe asked. 

“I have no idea what it is, but it’s more than a gunshot I can tell you that,” Tony said. 

“I’ll go with you,” Chloe said, grabbing her phone off the bed and heading towards the door. 

“No, kid, you don’t need to see this, Bruce and I can handle it-” 

“Look, before I met you, I had spent my life working in medical engineering,” Chloe said, “So whatever kind of injury it is if it’s that bad, you want someone like me there. I can help, Dad.” 

“...Did you just call me ‘Dad’?” Tony asked. 

“Is that okay?” Chloe asked. 

“It’s more than okay, but as your Dad, I don’t think you should-” 

“Eighteen, I was sent out into the middle of an active warzone, a soldier was down, left arm and right leg were blown clean off from a land mine. I was flown in and had three soldiers still suppressing fire while I saved their friends life, I was able to stop the bleeding in seconds with my designs and get him out and to surgery,” Chloe said, staring down Tony with a seriousness he hadn’t seen in her yet. 

He’d read her file back when he thought he was interviewing her, he knew her story was true, that and many others that now terrified him upon realizing his daughter had thrown himself out there in so many deadly situations just to save lives. But he’d seen her tech too, he knew she could do this, though every parental instinct he had was screaming at him, telling him to keep Chloe out of this. 

“...Fine, we’ll take the jet, you have some of your designs on you?” Tony asked. 

“All on my phone,” Chloe said, holding the device up. 

“Good, sync them up to FRIDAY on the jet and download them to my private server, we’ll be able to manufacture anything you need down at the compound in seconds that way,” Tony said with a sigh. 

“Thank you,” Chloe said. 

“Come on kid, we have to get there now,” Tony said. 

* * *

If things had been different, Chloe would have taken her time to admire all the new things around her, from how FRIDAY’s systems truly worked, how high tech the jet had been upgraded to her father’s standards, and certainly, how massive the compound was as soon as they landed there. But Chloe kept herself focused on the task at hand, ready to face whatever was going to land soon and come through the doors and down into the labs. She followed Tony quickly as he navigated them through the compound, briefly taking in the massive high tech lab that she now found herself in the middle of while Tony pulled up what looked like her designs on a holo screen in the center of the room along with a scan of someone beside it. 

“This guy is definitely not your average soldier that you dealt with in warzones or back here in the states,” Tony said, “You familiar with the whole super soldier serum?” 

“I know it, I looked into it a lot for its rapid healing potential,” Chloe said. 

“So then you know how the serum affects the system of someone fully injected with it?” Tony asked. 

“Yeah, perks of being scouted by S.H.I.E.L.D, they gave me access to files on Captain Rogers to try and work on something, they took the files back but I kept copies to work with,” Chloe said. 

“Alright, then by now you know it should be working trying to reject whatever substance he’s been shot with here, but this is a live scan and so far we’ve only got it repressed,” Tony said. 

“Not fully, it’s slow-moving now, you can see it spreading lightly here,” Chloe said, zooming in on the main circulatory systems around the heart that showed the poison slowly moving, “How far out is he?” 

“Ten minutes now,” Tony said. 

“I’m going to need some things,” Chloe said. 

“Pick whatever you need from mine or yours, FRIDAY can send all this stuff to the manufacturing printer over there, have everything you need in less than five minutes,” Tony said. 

Chloe went to work right away, queuing up everything she needed and collecting her parts as FRIDAY fabricated them. Tony helped with getting everything set up and his mechanical assistants up and running to help if needed. By the time everything was sorted out, a quinjet landed on the airstrip behind the compound and it didn’t take long for a woman with bright red hair to rush in with others from the compound rushing in a man on a stretcher. 

“He passed out two minutes ago,” She said to Tony. 

“We’ve got him,” Tony said. 

As soon as the agents wheeled the injured into the lab, Chloe immediately went to work, tuning everything out around her except for those who asked what she needed. The red-haired woman talked to Tony for a few minutes before he joined her side, watching her work silently. 

“How are you doing?” Tony asked. 

“Fine, I’ve got a new live scan up, I have my extractors pulling all of the black substance out, this one over his heart needs to stay since that’s where it’s localizing the most,” Chloe said, pointing to the small silver disc over the passed out man’s now bare chest, “I’m going to inject this antigen, it’s made to work with the serum and not cause the body to fight against it, it’ll target any remnants of the poison that my extractors can’t get.” 

Chloe took a syringe by her side with a steady hand and gently injected the white pearlescent liquid into the man’s veins, all of the black veins slowly turning back to normal while the patches of burned skin on his chest slowly began to heal. 

“It’ll kick start the healing process for the poison and burns,” Chloe said, reaching around to the table at her side again and picking up a piece of mesh, “This will start working on closing the wound.” 

Placing the mesh gently over the wound, Chloe watched as the mesh started to do its work, closing up the wound from the inside out. When the last extractor on his chest chirped and had a green ring of light around it, Chloe carefully extracted the disc and laid it with the other extractors, each disc’s glass chamber underneath them filled with the black poison that filled his veins. 

“The antigen cleared it, it will probably be a while before he wakes up, all of this sent his immune system into overdrive,” Chloe said. 

“Good job, kid,” Tony said, resting his hand on Chloe’s shoulder and giving it a slight squeeze. 

“You’re new,” The red-headed woman finally spoke once again, leaning up against the counter in the corner, “Tony must trust you a lot to let you take control over that.” 

“Nat this is Chloe, Chloe this is Nat,” Tony said introducing them, “Natasha, Chloe is my daughter.” 

“...Your what?” Natasha asked, confusion all over her face. 

“It’s a long story,” Tony said, “Chloe, I’m gonna go call Pepper and let her know what’s going on, Nat and I are going to reach the others, you okay here with him?” 

“Yeah, I want to keep an eye on him anyway,” Chloe said. 

“As soon as he wakes up, have FRIDAY call us, I don’t really want you left in here alone with him whenever he decides to come around,” Tony said. 

“Will do,” Chloe said. 


	3. First Meeting

Waking up, Bucky couldn’t help but feel like he’d gotten into a fight with a truck and lost. Every part of his body ached and the bright lights shining down on him were not helping him in the least. Everything was a blur that was slow to come into focus, his surroundings becoming slowly clear around him. It looked like the compound to him, the brightness of the lab and all of the mechanical tools moving around him, the tall glass windows that showed two quintets made a fast landing on the lawn out front. It was all familiar, except for the only person he noticed in the room with him as he slowly sat up on the metal slab he laid on, hanging his legs off over the edge. 

She was a petite and delicate looking thing, olive skin contrasting against the bright white of the lab coat she wore, her long brown hair tied into a messy bun with loose tendrils framing her face. Bucky made sure to memorize every face in and around the compound, for his own peace of mind if nothing else, and this woman here before him was definitely not one he remembered. She seemed too immersed in the screen in front of her to notice him, something pulled up about his arm from what he could tell, though he was surprised to notice that it was still left attached to him - a sign of trust no doubt. His mind instantly wanted to race towards this place being a lie, something made to look like the compound to make him have an illusion of safety, though it all felt too real to be something Hydra would cook up if they had caught him. Wanting some answers, Bucky cleared his throat causing the woman to jump at the sudden noise, also causing himself to tense up at her sudden movement and gasp. 

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I didn’t notice you were up,” She said, holding her hands up where he could see them, seeming to know already how to keep things calm, “Are you alright?” 

“Uhm, fine, I guess,” Bucky said, slowly settling down, “I’m sorry too, I didn’t want to scare you like that.” 

“It’s okay,” She said, smiling just a small bit now, “I should have paid more attention, I’m usually pretty good around guys like you, guess I just got too caught up reading.” 

“About me?” Bucky asked, nodding towards the holo screen. 

“Your arm mostly, actually,” She replied, “I usually try to just ask people about themselves to get to know them.” 

“Good to know,” Bucky said, “Can you tell me why I’m here? The last thing I remember is passing out on the jet over here.” 

“From what I’ve been told, you were on a mission against Hydra and one of them shot you with some kind of bullet that had a toxin loaded in it, strong enough to bring down someone like you and from what I’ve been able to analyze of it so far, strong enough to bring down anyone else like you,” Chloe said, “I got it all out of your system but you’ll probably be feeling pretty tired for the rest of the day while your body is still recovering from it.” 

On instinct, Bucky looked down, looking for a bullet hole that was no longer there and instead had a weird white mesh over it. 

“That should be ready to come off actually, if you want me to help you that is,” Chloe said. 

Bucky gave a small nod and couldn’t help but wince slightly at the sting of where she removed the mesh from. His skin was a bit red from the irritation, but aside from that, it looked as if he had never been shot in the first place. 

“The redness should be gone by tomorrow too, I would still take it easy today just to let it heal properly,” Chloe said. 

“Thanks...for all the help I mean,” Bucky said, “I don’t think I’ve ever met you before though.” 

“No, I’m new I guess you could say,” Chloe said, “Well, technically I wasn’t supposed to be here but I couldn’t just really sit there in the city knowing I could help someone. I’m Chloe.” 

“James, but everyone calls me Bucky,” Bucky said, smiling just a bit at the way Chloe’s smile seemed to light up the room. 

“Nice to meet you Bucky,” Chloe said, “Oh, I should probably let everyone know you're awake, they’ve been waiting for you. FRIDAY, could you tell everyone that Bucky is awake and alright?” 

_ “Certainly, Miss Stark,”  _ FRIDAY said. 

“Stark? You’re related to Tony?” Bucky asked. 

“I’m guessing my dad got FRIDAY to change that,” Chloe said, “Yeah, I’m Tony’s daughter, it’s a long story.” 

Before Bucky could say another word, the doors to the lab opened, Tony, Nat, and Bruce coming in and immediately taking over. 

“You left his arm on him? I told you to take that off once he was out,” Tony said, immediately going to Chloe and concern all over his face. 

“I told you it wasn’t necessary to come off, he’s -” 

“Fine, yeah, I can see that, but if he hadn’t been you could have gotten hurt,” Tony said, cutting her off mid-sentence, “I showed you his file and those videos so you knew what could happen.” 

“I deal with soldiers all the time, I know what could happen-” 

“But do you know what could have happened if he-”

“Tony,” Nat said, her firm tone silencing them both, “She’s fine, Bucky is fine. She knows what she’s doing and from everything you showed me about her I think she can judge what’s safe and what’s not.” 

Tony sighed, seeming to let go of the argument for now and finally relaxing a slight bit, “Sorry, kid, I’m just-” 

“Worried? I know,” Chloe said, cracking a smile to lighten the mood of the room, “I think that’s a parent thing.” 

“Did you get anything yet on what they hit Bucky with?” Natasha asked. 

“No, not yet, still working on it,” Chloe said, “But as soon as I do I can start working on something that will be a little less invasive than what we had to do for Bucky, depending on what it is exactly.” 

“Did you ask Cap and Wanda to try and bring one of those weapons back?” Bruce asked, taking a look at the screens Chloe had pulled up. 

“They found two different ones at the scene, they’re bringing them both here with a full S.H.I.E.L.D escort,” Natasha said, “They should get here within the hour.” 

“Great, come on kid, I’ll give you the tour, Bruce can keep an eye on cyberpunk over there,” Tony said. 

“Actually I think I’m gonna wait until I get some results back,” Chloe said, “If that’s alright.” 

“Fine by me,” Bruce said, “Tony hasn’t stopped talking about all the tech you used on Bucky since I got here.” 

“Plus, I think it'll be good to keep an eye on Bucky for another hour, I want more of that redness to go down before I clear him,” Chloe said. 

“...Alright,” Tony said with a sigh, “I’ll be back later with the full team once they show.” 

* * *

It took a while for the lab to become quiet again, between Bruce asking Chloe a million questions about her field of study and how she managed to get Bucky healed up so quickly and everyone else pouring into the lab to check on Bucky - including Cap and Wanda when they finally arrived - Chloe was beyond grateful for when everything fell silent once again. She wrapped up her work pretty quickly, shutting down the lab for the night and had FRIDAY lead her to her room over the phone that Tony had picked out for her. Standing on her feet for most of the day made her collapse on her bed as soon as she reached it, grateful for the few moments of quiet she could get until someone inevitably came looking for her. As she expected, it was short lived until someone came knocking on her door. 

“Come in,” Chloe said, forcing herself to sit up on the bed now. 

“Hey, kid,” Tony said as soon as he entered the room, lingering in the doorway, “Long day today.” 

“Yeah, but I kinda loved every minute of it,” Chloe said, smiling a bit in return. 

“I figured you would,” Tony said, smiling as well, “I wanted to say sorry for earlier with all that...protective dad crap.” 

“You don’t need to, I get it,” Chloe said, “The past few nights I spent with you in New York I read up on everyone that was in your system. I know how dangerous everyone can be, trust me, I’ve come face to face with some pretty bad people outside of all of this. From everything I read, I know Bucky Barnes isn’t exactly your favorite person in the world either, but I’m used to being around soldiers, no matter how messed up they are in the head, they were the people I worked with every day before this, trying to save their lives.” 

“I know, believe me I know you can handle it, you’re incredibly strong just like your mom used to be,” Tony said, “I guess since I kind of missed out on being the overprotective parent for most of your life that I just don’t want to lose you so easily after you found me. I trust Barnes about as far as I can throw him without the suit on, but you’re in the safest place you can be here, I just...overreacted.” 

“You were being a dad like you said,” Chloe said with a laugh, “But I do like being here and being able to help.” 

“Well, it looks like we’ll be here a little while longer with what S.H.I.E.L.D found,” Tony said, “I’ve called everyone I could in, more people will be here tomorrow. But tonight everyone managed to agree on ordering some Chinese food that will be here in about a half-hour, so I hope you’re hungry.” 

“Starving, actually,” Chloe said.

* * *

Natasha had learned how to watch people a long time ago, it was a vital skill for her job, right up alongside learning how to blend in. She’d learned to read everyone in the Avengers from day one and could tell instantly when someone’s mood had shifted. There was a wildcard with Tony’s daughter Chloe who she hadn’t quite learned about yet, but being able to read everyone else around her helped Nat get a better gauge of things. 

Tony adored her, he was already different from the moment she had arrived with Bucky and judging by how he kept an eye on her all through dinner, he was ready to jump in front of a bullet already for his new daughter. Wanda was quiet but seemed fascinated by Chloe, seemingly finding something interesting about her and staying close to her side, managing to make friends with Chloe almost instantly. Cap was his usual self, painfully polite and asking Chloe about all she’d been working on his taking care of the soldiers of today. Bruce seemed fascinated by Chloe’s tech, asking her at every chance he got about how she came up with half the devices he saw of hers in Tony’s server. Then there was Bucky, unusually quiet and gaze always seeming to flicker back towards Chloe if only for a few seconds before she would notice. She had worked with Cap and Bucky long enough to know that the two never seemed to concern themselves with anything but their missions, and for the first time since Nat met him, Bucky seemed to be showing interest in something, or rather  _ someone _ else. 

After dinner was the easiest time to investigate her suspicions she had formed over the dinner table. Chloe seemed fascinated by Wanda’s powers and had Wanda showing her everything she could do that didn’t involve destroying the building around them. Cap lingered nearby the pair, watching Wanda’s powers and seemingly ready to jump in at a moment’s notice if something went wrong which raised some alarms for Natasha, but not enough to look into it more at the moment. For now her target was Barnes, and he just so managed to be the only one from the group to slip away quietly outside to get some air. 

“Feeling alright?” Natasha asked as soon as she made her way outside, Bucky sitting on the bench just outside the door. 

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Bucky said, “Better than I was earlier. I just want to know what the hell it was that Hydra shot me with, it didn’t mess with my memories or anything.” 

“Big Stark and Little Stark are working on it with Bruce, I’m sure they’ll tell everyone as soon as they figure it out,” Natasha said. 

“Yeah, I know,” Bucky said with a nod. 

“Speaking of Little Stark, she did a great job on healing you up today,” Natasha said, “Tony said she’s sticking around here with us for a while to figure this whole mess out.” 

“She’s good at what she does,” Bucky said. 

“You know...I watched the security of the lab earlier today and after she let you go,” Natasha said, “The last new face you saw in the lab when you were hurt you almost choked them out. It looked like you were about to do the same to her, but you didn’t.” 

“The last new face in that lab when I was hurt was S.H.I.E.L.D,” Bucky said, “Not exactly a fan of them or any organization really. Also, they pulled a gun on me as soon as I was up.”

“A bit excessive, but given your past not entirely unnecessary,” Natasha said. 

“I know what you’re looking for,” Bucky said, “I didn’t hold back because suddenly there was a pretty girl, I held back because as soon as I saw her eyes, I knew she wasn’t scared of me. When people have me in a room, they’re usually scared I’m going to leap up and attack them because they did something to me. She didn’t look like that, she wasn’t scared, she didn’t reach around for some gun, she didn’t call for security or backup or whatever. She was just a person.” 

“A person you watched all through dinner,” Natasha said, a smile on her face. 

“Hate to break it to you, but you’re chasing nothing here,” Bucky said, “I don’t exactly look forward to being alone with people anymore, I don’t really trust myself with that. If you’re looking for someone already that’s keeping an eye on her, you’re better off giving Steve the third degree. First time I saw him interested in learning about someone since Peggy.” 

“You know I’m never wrong,” Natasha said. 

“This might be the time you are,” Bucky said, cracking a smile of his own, “Why are you keeping such a close eye on her anyway?” 

“She’s painfully innocent,” Natasha said, “That’s surprising for a Stark. Plus I like her, she asked me earlier to help her train a little bit so Tony would worry about her less. It’s hard to keep innocence around a place like this.” 

“I’ve ruined enough lives, especially of the Starks, I don’t plan on ruining anymore,” Bucky said. 

“Whatever you say,” Natasha said, “But so you know, I’m good at figuring out secrets and keeping them.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Hope you guys like this so far! The next chapter should be up soon, next week at the latest!


End file.
